1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to building construction using interlocking building blocks for concrete structures and, more particularly, to a novel system for constructing the walls of a structure using new and improved interlocking block forms and associated components to aid in the building of various concrete structures such as walls and the like, wherein concrete in slurry form is poured into the body cavity of the block forms and thereby becomes a part of the permanent wall structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years, footings and walls constructed of concrete have customarily required a combination of metal and wooden forms which are erected in place after a proper excavation has been made. Thereafter, concrete is poured into the cavity defined by the form and allowed to harden. When the concrete is sufficiently hard, typically after a day or two, the forms are removed. Some parts of the forms can be re-used and others must be discarded. Also, the described activity is labor intensive. In short, current practice results in a substantial amount of waste, both time-wise and material-wise.
More recently, with the advent of light weight plastic foam materials, a number of constructions have been suggested for use as external wall forms for receiving concrete having a slurry composition.
There is a problem in the prior art, however, in that there do not exist suitable block forms that include all of the necessary components and configurations that are required to meet the strict adherence to sound constructive practices and guidelines in the construction of concrete wall structures and the like. This is a particularly acute problem when a structure is to employ a hollow-type block form that incorporates a synthetic plastic material that must withstand the high stress placed upon the walls of the block form as concrete is being poured therein.
There are many known devices and block systems that have been employed and are presently being used in building wall structures, in attempting to solve many structural problems without causing limitations in use as well as restrictions in applications to particular situations or circumstances. However, there remains a need for a new, novel arrangement of a concrete block form that can become more universally accepted in the industry.
Accordingly, it is felt that the present invention overcomes many of the faults of known block forms, particularly those forms that use synthetic plastic material.
As examples of various known wall forming blocks, attention is directed to the following U.S. patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,967 issued Apr. 3, 1984 to Dielenberg discloses formwork elements for building purposes having a hollow block configuration produced from a hard-foam resin material, and adapted to be filled with concrete to establish a rigid wall having insulating properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,429 issued Nov. 17, 1987 to Young discloses a modular, synthetic plastic, concrete-form structure which comprises a pair of modular, concrete-forming panels that are interconnected by a plurality of plastic cross-ties that slidably engage the oppositely positioned side panels. The side panels also include end panels which are used as end closures to confine the concrete within the modular constructed form.
The following U.S. patents all disclose block forms of such light weight plastic foam material, each with a tongue and groove construction for erecting concrete walls: U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,969 issued Jan. 23, 1990 to Horobin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,528 issued Nov. 6, 1990 to Doran, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,600 issued Feb. 11, 1992 to Holland et al.
It was in light of the foregoing state of the prior art that the present invention was conceived and now has been reduced to practice.